NFL: Trade deadline really hasn't motivated more teams to deal

FOXBORO — The draft is where it's at when it comes to the NFL and the acquisition of players.

But in an attempt to spur greater activity — and fan interest — the league moved the trade deadline ahead two weeks to the Tuesday following Week 8 beginning last year. That's Oct. 29 this season, so just two days away.

The thinking went that by the middle of the season more teams would have a better idea of where they stood in the playoff race. That would make it easier to consider adding a missing piece in hopes of improving their postseason odds or shedding salary and adding draft picks to assist in the retooling process.

In theory, a nice thought. It hasn't played out that way in reality, though.

There have been five trades since 53-man rosters were initially established Aug. 31. All involved a player for a pick or two. (Player-for-player trades during the season are unusual for reasons we'll get to.)

The most notable was the Browns sending running back Trent Richardson, the third overall selection in the 2012 draft, to the Colts for a 2014 first-round choice on Sept. 18. Two starting tackles also got moved, with the Ravens landing Eugene Monroe from the Jaguars and the Steelers getting Levi Brown from the Cardinals.

Trade talk intensifies in Major League Baseball as the deadline approaches. In football, it peaks in late August as the 75- and 53-man roster cuts loom.

For example, there were six trades from Aug. 12 to 26, or one more than has occurred in the last nine weeks.

"There's a lot more conversations there about the makeup of your team and who you need and who might be extra and those kind of things," Belichick said. "You're looking at a 16-week season at that point. Now you're looking at a much shorter window.

"(And) I'd say every team in the league is dealing with some type of personnel issues. So where you have extra depth is probably less than what it was in September, and your needs based on whatever players you've lost are probably greater than they were in September. Therefore, you need more, there's less available, it's a shorter season."

Then there's the dynamic of attempting to quickly integrate a player into a new system without the benefit of OTAs in the spring, training camp and preseason games in the summer, and practices, meetings and film sessions to this point in the fall.

"It's hard to get a guy ready in a short amount of time," Belichick said. "I don't know much about baseball, but maybe a third baseman on this team, put him at third base on the other team and let him hit. How much is there involved? I'm sure there's some, but it's not like playing left guard, having 20 different protections and two dozen running plays and a dozen different defenses you have to block every week. It's a little more involved."

As for the team trading the player, it has to decide whether it's worth it to deal a healthy body for what is likely a late-round pick (and some cap relief). The Richardson trade, for a first-rounder, is the rare exception in the NFL, which places a high premium on draft choices.

"Is it worth it to the team who is trading away the player to get not very much for somebody versus just keeping him and playing with him?" Belichick asked. "You'd rather have him for those seven, eight games, whatever is left than some pick at the end of the draft that you might not think has a lot of value, especially if you're worried about your depth at that position with the player that you're moving."

The perfect example of that came earlier this month when the Jaguars traded Monroe and then lost his replacement at left tackle, highly touted rookie Luke Joeckel, to a season-ending injury six days later.

The Patriots did benefit from the extended trade deadline last season, acquiring cornerback Aqib Talib and a seventh-round pick from the Buccaneers for a fourth-rounder right at the deadline. Talib has been terrific since his arrival in New England, stabilizing a shaky secondary.

The Pats could use help at a number of positions, including a space-eating defensive tackle, a linebacker who excels in pass coverage and a safety other than Devin McCourty who can tackle. They have all of their picks in next year's draft, one in each of the seven rounds, so the capital is there.

The window to make a deal is closing, and it's likely to do so with no activity here as Belichick figures he's better off working with what he's got. Just like the vast majority of teams in the league.

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